Typical, isn’t it? You wait half your life for a new Half-Life game, then two come along at once…
All eyes may be swivelled in the direction of Half-Life: Alyx landing like a gravity-propelled toilet later this month. Yet while everyone’s eagerly setting up their VR headsets in preparation, another little chapter of gaming history has just written its final page. Black Mesa, the long-in development remake of Half-Life, is done. Dusted. Finito.
Black Mesa reviewDeveloper: Crowbar Collective/ValvePlatform: Reviewed on PCAvailability: Out now on PC
“But wait!” I hear you cry. “Is Black Mesa a Half-Life game? Can a remake by a bunch of online enthusiasts that’s taken to finish possibly live up to one of the most influential games ever made?” Well let me tell you, Black Mesa is one Half-Life-ass game. As remakes go, it’s about as good as you could hope for. Black Mesa doesn’t just make Half-Life better-looking. It makes Half-Life better.
Black Mesa: Half-Life Remake Tested – A Spectacular Revival of a PC Classic! Watch on YouTube
Many of you may already know this. At least, in part. The Black Mesa bit of Black Mesa has been available to play since 2012, while the whole game made its transition from amateur mod project to paid-for Steam Early Access title back in 2015. For a lot of Half-Life fans, this was enough. Many such enthusiast projects never see the light of day, so to get even a partly complete remake of Half-Life felt like a minor miracle. Besides, who cares about Xen? It was always rubbish. Why bother?